Summary:
Zip code 36522 in Citronelle, Alabama, is served by three public schools within the Mobile County school district, enrolling nearly 2,000 students across elementary, middle, and high school grades.
For parents, the standout school in this area is McDavid-Jones Elementary School, which shows the strongest academic performance. Its 5th grade English proficiency reached 72.97%, above the state average, and 3rd grade math proficiency improved to 46.3%, also beating the state. However, 5th grade math dropped sharply from 52% to 35.14% year-over-year, which is a concern. In contrast, Citronelle High School struggles significantly, with 11th grade math proficiency at just 16.97% and a chronic absenteeism rate of 22.2%—nearly double the state average. Despite this, its graduation rate of 89.4% exceeds the district average. Lott Middle School presents the most alarming data point: 7th grade math proficiency collapsed to just 7.69%, a catastrophic decline from 17.33% the prior year, and its 8th grade science proficiency (39.46%) trails both district and state averages.
The clearest pattern is a dramatic academic slide as students progress. Elementary students perform near or above state averages in English, but by 8th grade, proficiency falls 20-30 points below state averages, and by 11th grade, math proficiency is critically low. Chronic absenteeism escalates from 13.2% in elementary to 16.8% in middle and 22.2% in high school, correlating with the decline. English remains a relative strength across all grades, while math and science suffer. The middle school has the highest student-teacher ratio (23.7) and lowest per-student spending ($9,173), suggesting it may be under-resourced. With 60-69% of students on free/reduced lunch, these schools face significant socioeconomic challenges, but the magnitude of the secondary math gaps indicates targeted interventions in math instruction, attendance initiatives, and additional resources for Lott Middle School are urgently needed.
Thank you for your feedback!